The Lebanese Al Akhbar newspaper on Monday morning reported that Egypt and Qatar are holding negotiations with Palestinian Arab terror organizations. According to the report, which was first reported on in Hebrew by Israel Hayom , the goal of the negotiations is to reach a unified position which will help further the completion of a ceasefire-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas in the near future. Hamas, meanwhile, has demanded clear guarantees for a permanent ceasefire. CIA chief Bill Burns held a series of meetings with relevant parties before US President Joe Biden's speech, the report added. Among others, Burns has demanded that Israel accept Biden's ceasefire plan. Sources also told Al Akhbar that the terror groups do not see Biden's proposal as enough to push for a serious agreement. According to them, the negotiations held in the last three days focused on a list of issues regarding the hostages, the ceasefire, and Rafah Crossing. Hamas, the report said, told Qatar and Egypt that its final position would be based on a written document which included everything Biden said in his speech. Hamas also said that it would demand clear and full guarantees, which the US can implement, forcing Israel to implement the agreement. Related articles: Israel passes counter-proposal for ceasefire to mediators Israel demanding 10 living hostages; Hamas insists on only 5 Prepare for talks to release 11 hostages Steve Witkoff's new proposal for a ceasefire deal Another issue Hamas is demanding clarification on is that of a complete ceasefire - something which has been left vague in the proposals until now. According to the report, these statements are not enough for Hamas, and from the terror group's perspective, there is no room for discussion on the topic. On this issue, Egyptian intelligence spoke with Hamas leadership, and the terror group emphasized that it will not provide a final position before receiving an official document which includes Israel's full agreement and "does not leave any section open to interpretation - which is what Prime Minister Netanyahu aspires to." A third issue pertains to Egypt's request that Hamas send a delegation to Cairo in the coming days. Invitations were also sent to the Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror groups, so that they could also participate in the negotiations in Cairo. According to the report, the terror groups are preparing their delegations. The terror groups also held discussions in which they agreed to let Hamas speak in their names as well, and prevent any attempt to open parallel discussions with Israel. Thus, the terror groups told Egypt and Qatar that they are not willing to provide any guarantees to Israel regarding "the next stage" and that "any agreement which does not include a permanent ceasefire will not be signed."
